In 50 years of telecasts, ABC has encountered just about everything the Indianapolis 500 has to offer, from close finishes, 8½-hour rain delays and even a 39-degree wind chill.

But one thing that has never changed is the pride the production team takes in bringing the event to viewers each year.

"To be entrusted by our partners at IndyCar with producing the Indianapolis 500 for millions of viewers is ... something that is a huge responsibility that we take quite seriously," said ABC/ESPN Vice President of Motorsports Production Rich Feinberg.

Since 1965, when black-and-white footage of the 500 was shown on "Wide World of Sports," ABC has been televising the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." It has since evolved into a 92-camera production, one of the largest and most complex that ESPN/ABC does each year.

"The Indy 500, there is nothing standard about it," Feinberg said. "It's a really unique project."

And while that special nature of the production has always been apparent, the 1989 broadcast was a landmark occasion.

Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi were neck-and-neck that year, triggering spot decisions in the booth that helped elevate the broadcast. Former ABC play-by-play announcer Paul Page, now the radio voice of the race, made a decision to let the visuals do the talking as he pulled back from announcing during the broadcast.

"I'm looking at it and I'm thinking why should I even say anything, the visuals are all there. I reverted to '5 laps to go' as they crossed the line and then I'd shut up. And the crew was instantly on top of that. They all believed that was a good thing to do," Page said.

"I think that was our finest television moment."

The decision earned the production an Emmy for best sports special, an award the team would pick up the next year as well, making it the first time a motor sports telecast had accomplished that feat. The only other event telecast to win back-to-back Emmys is the World Series.

Pitfalls

Of course, things didn't always go as smoothly in the booth.

Page once found himself locked out of the booth only seconds before the green flag. Another time, Page ended up popping three-time Indy 500 winner and driver analyst Bobby Unser in the face after Unser moved under Page's arm for a better view of the monitor.

"You always have a roll of features lined up that you don't want to foreshadow and Bobby started to do that and I needed to get him to stop, so I turn around and end up smacking him right in the face," said Page. "He looked like a puppy."

Another aspect of what set the network apart was technological innovation.

ABC was the first to make use of onboard cameras in 1983 when they were used on the cars of Al Unser and Rick Mears. They also unveiled the "side-by-side" format and introduced high definition cameras.

"Technology itself has come such a long way and it allows us to do our job and get better and faster at it," Feinberg said.

Teamwork has been a key factor.

Page noticed during his tenure that while the crew was passionate about the job and held an affection for each other, "the month of May would just ring you out here."

"I realized it was creating a lot of tension, and the best broadcasts come from a good attitude, so I decided you use that," said Page, who held a proper British tea on Carb Day "because it was the total antithesis of everything that was going on here."

That togetherness has become a staple of the broadcast.

"Overall the project is about a team of people," said Feinberg. "We are a team. We work very closely together, travel together. We are only as good as our team overall is."

Pressures of the booth

Butterflies. Nerves. Anxiety.

Bob Jenkins, veteran broadcaster and ABC's Indianapolis 500 lap-by-lap announcer from 1999-2001, can attest that all those feelings are evident before going on the air. But that's not a bad thing.

"I think it is like a race driver," said Jenkins, who retired from TV in 2012 and now helps with the IMS broadcast. "You'll have so many drivers say that they have a little bit of nerves before the race but once they get in the car and the car starts rolling and the race has a green flag, they lose their butterflies and I think that's kind of how it is. Once you settle into a groove it gets easier."

For the broadcasters in the booth, nerves are part of the gig.

"I'd be up at midnight the night before writing my openings and practicing them with a stop watch. It would tie my stomach up in knots like you wouldn't believe," said three-time Indy 500 winner turned race analyst Bobby Unser.

"A few years into (it), I figured who gives a damn. You're live, they can't stop you if you go a little over."

For Unser, keeping his language PG-rated is tougher.

"This may sound silly, but I've cussed all my life, part of the way I've lived and everything ... I had to quit cussing for television. Probably one of the hardest things I had to do," he said.

Pressures of the booth

Butterflies. Nerves. Anxiety.

Bob Jenkins, veteran broadcaster and ABC's Indianapolis 500 lap-by-lap announcer from 1999-2001, can attest that all those feelings are evident before going on the air. But that's not a bad thing.

"I think it is like a race driver," said Jenkins, who retired from TV in 2012 and now helps with the IMS broadcast. "You'll have so many drivers say that they have a little bit of nerves before the race but once they get in the car and the car starts rolling and the race has a green flag, they lose their butterflies and I think that's kind of how it is. Once you settle into a groove it gets easier."

For the broadcasters in the booth, nerves are part of the gig.

"I'd be up at midnight the night before writing my openings and practicing them with a stop watch. It would tie my stomach up in knots like you wouldn't believe," said three-time Indy 500 winner turned race analyst Bobby Unser.

"A few years into (it), I figured who gives a damn. You're live, they can't stop you if you go a little over."

For Unser, keeping his language PG-rated is tougher.

"This may sound silly, but I've cussed all my life, part of the way I've lived and everything ... I had to quit cussing for television. Probably one of the hardest things I had to do," he said.